Box



Jan. 5, 1943. ER 2,307,682

BOX

Filed Sept.' 9, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N v E NTOE ANDREW MATHIS KAMPER A TTOQHEYS Jan. 5, 1943.

A. M.- KAMPER Filed Sept. 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet? jz e.

IHVGHTPQ ANDREW MATHISKAMPER Patented Jan. 5, 1943 BOX Andrew Mathis Kamper, Kingston-on-Thames, England, assignor to No-Nail Cases Proprietary Limited, London, England, a limited liability company of Victoria, Australia Application September 9, 1939, Serial No. 294,188 In Great Britain September 16, 1938 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in and relating to boxes of the type in which panels of plywood for example forming the bottom and two sides and in most cases also the lid of the box are bound and hinged together at their end edges so as to form a folding blank, by angle section metal binding strips having a body portion secured to the panels and flange portions spaced from the end edges of the panels to provide channels to house the borders of the end members of th box when the blank is bent up into box form.

The metal bindng strips may be attached to the panels of the box by means of teeth integral with the strips, or by wire stitching, or riveting or otherwise. c

When loaded boxes of this kind are subjected to careless handling and severe jolting, there is a danger of the sides or bottom or lid being caused to bulge, and of the edge binding strips being sprung away from the edges of the end members so that the latter escape from the grooves in which they are housed.

It is the object of the present invention to provide means whereby the metal binding strips at opposite edges of the end members are anchored one to the other intermediate the corners of the box so that they may be incapable of moving apart even under severe stresses.

A further object of the invention is to anchor the end members at one or more of their edges directly to the flanges behind which they are housed.

According to one feature of the present invention the end member of a box of the type described carries near one edge or near opposite edges and preferably near all four edges, means adapted to engage the metal flange behind which the edge of the end member lies and likewise adapted to engage the outside of the flange and hold the flange firmly against movement away from the face of the end member, so that not only is any relative movement prevented between the end member and the flange in a direction in the plane of the end member but also in a direction normal to the end member.

The means carried by the end member may consist of a plate of sheet metal attached near the edge or edges of the end member by means of integral teeth formed in the metal plate, or by means of wire stitching, or by other suitable means. Alternatively, a single sheet metal strip may extend across the end member and be fixed thereto by suitable means.

Where separate flange engaging means are attached at opposite edges of the end member, or where a single flange engaging member extends across the end member and engages flanges intermediate their ends on opposite sides of the box, the flanges are anchored together so that movement away from one another is resisted.

The flange engaging means carried by the end member, in one embodiment of the invention, consists of a metal plate having an outwardly directed ridge adapted to engage with a shoulder formed on the inner side of the. flange, and the means for engaging the outside of the flange and hold it against movement away from the face of the end member consists of a lug protruding from the metal plate over the free edge of the flange and adapted to be bent down onto the outside of the flange. The lug may be formed from the metal displaced to form two spaced prongs or teeth on the plate by which the plate is attached to the end member. Theshoulder formed on the inner side of the flange may be in the form of a rib or corrugation running the length of the flange to stiffen it.

In another embodiment of the invention, a lug formed by the plate on the end member and extending from the end member in the plane of the latter, is passed through a slot formed in the metal binding strip, close to the foot of the 30 flange and is adapted to be bent over onto the outside of the flange and thus serves two purposes simultaneously, holding the flange against movement relatively to the end member either in the plane of the latter or normal thereto. In both embodiments of the invention the flange is gripped between the body of the plate on the end member and a portion thereof adapted to be bent over onto the outside of the flange and hold it close against the plate.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a view of the folding blank used in boxes of the type specified, lying flat.

Fig. 2 is a partial view showing the blank folded up and one end member partly inserted in position. s

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of part of a box according to the present invention, with an end member in place, but with the lid of the box still open.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a box according to the present invention, but with the lid closed but not fastened down, the flange engaging means in Fig. 4 being different in form from those in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a box to Fig. 4 but with the lid fastened down and with flange engaging means extending in one piece across the end members of the box.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the flange engaging means shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of part of the end member carrying flange engaging means, and of part of the box blank and flange with which the end member is to be assembled.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the parts shown in Figs. 6 and 7 in the interlocked position.

The folding blank shown in Fig. 1 comprises in known manner four panels A, B, C, D,.of plywood, adapted to form the front, bottom, back and lid of a box, these panels being bound and hinged together by angle section metal strips the body portions E, E, of which are attached to their ends by wire stitching F, F. The flange portions G, G, of the metal strips are spaced from the end edges of the panel, so as to leave channels (see Fig. 7) for the reception of the end members of the box when the blank is bent up into box form.

In the metal strips illustrated in the figures, the flanges G are in known manner provided with longitudinal stiffening corrugations G, forming a recess on the inner faces of the flanges (see Fig. 7).

When this blank is bent up as shown in Fig, 2, it is ready to receive the end members H of the box. To the end members are secured flangeengaging means, I, I, these being in the arrangements shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in the form shown on an enlarged scale in Figs. 6 and 7, and consisting of a sheet metal plate having rearwardly extending prongs K adapted-to pierce the end member H, and to be clinched over tofix the plate Securely to the end member. The metal from between these prongs forms a forwardly'extending lug L, and along the lower part of the plate is formed an outwardly directed ridge M adapted to engage beneath the upper inside surface of the corrugation G' of the flange (Figs. '7 and 8). It will be seen that the engaging surfaces of the parts M and G are in planes substantially at right angles to the plane of the end member H.

As the end member H is pushed further down from the position shown in Fig. 2, the ridges M engage and slide longitudinally in the corrugations or recesses G of the vertical flange portions in the front and rear parts A, C, of the box, and hold these parts against any. outward movement. engaging means perform the same duty as the lug plates in other boxes of the type specified fitted on the inner side of the end members of the box and adapted to engage behind the borders of the front and back panels of the box, as described for example in my earlier patent specification No. 401,660, and with the present arrangement these earlier proposeddevices become unnecessary.

When the end member reaches the bottom At this stage therefore the flange flange portion of the box, a thrust or light blow I The method of engaging the flange portions with metal fittings on the borders of the end members above described is not essentially different from known methods, used with metal bound boxes, wherein outwardly directed parts of plates fixed to the borders of the end members engage behind inwardly directed parts of flanges of the metal binding strips. But this engagement of the. parts is not sufiicient by itself to ensure the box against being broken open by severe jolts, which cause the engaged parts to become dislodged, and it is a feature of the present inventionthat. the parts engaged as above describedare locked in the engaged position.

This is accomplished in the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 2 and 6-8 by means of the forwardly extending lugs L on the plates I being bent" down, as'by hammering, onto the outside of the. flange portions G, as shown clearly in section in Fig. 8. The end member H is thus notonlysecurely held from movement out of the channels between the flange portions and the panel edges, but the flange portion itself is also held close against the plate I by the lug L and the engaging parts are prevented from being dislodged, and the box and member is thus anchored to the flange.

The lugs L may with advantage be so dimensioned that when bent down, their ends lie'under the shoulders'of the corrugation G, so that there is no risk of their injuring persons handling the packed boxes.

With the modified arrangement of flangeengaging means shown in Fig. 4, the body portion of the binding strips is slotted'as indicated at N, N, and the four plates 0 on the end member are arranged to protrude through these slots. The folding blank has, so to speak, to be folded round the end members in this case, instead of the latter being slid into position, as shown in Fig. 2. The parts of the plates 0 extendingbeyond the edges of the end member here perform a double function, for one section of these parts engages beneath the base of the flange portion and holds the end member against withdrawal from its housing channels, while the section beyond is bent onto the outside of the flange and holds the latter close against the plate. In this arrangement therefore the same end is attained as with the arrangement of the earlier figures.

In the arrangement of Fig. 5, the oppositely disposed flange engaging means are in one piece, the plates 0 extending across the end member.

In Figures 4 and v5 the flange engaging plates are shown wire stitched onto'the end members H of the box.

There may of course be more than one flange engaging member engaging each flange portion, where the size of the box-or the weight of the contents makes it desirable. Again, the flange engaging means need not be provided at all four sides of the end members.

It will be seen that where separate flange engaging members are fixed to opposite sides of the end member (e. g. to top andbottom), the opposite flange portions with which they engage are at the points of engagement anchored together against movement away from one another, and the same of course is true when theflangeengaging means extend. in one piece from flange to flange.

Having thus described my invention, what 'I desire to claim as new is:

1. A box comprising a folding-blank including a plurality of panels adapted to form the sides of a box, two angle-sectional metal strips "secured to opposite edges of the blank for binding and hinging the panels together, each of said strips having a body portion secured to th end edges of said panels and a recessed flange portion extending substantially at right angles to the body portion, said flange portion being spaced from the end faces of the panels and providing channels at opposite sides of the blank between said flanges and said end faces, end members adapted to form the two ends of the box and to extend within said channels when the box is set up, and locking means for securing the end members to the panels, said locking means including a plate secured on the outside of an end member and having a projection adapted to engage with said recessed flange portion, said plate having a lug adapted to be bent over onto the outside of the flange portion when the box is set up, to insure the end members being secured in a fixed position relative to the panels.

2. A box comprising a folding blank including a plurality of panels adapted to form the sides of a box, two angle-sectional metal strips secured to opposite edges of the blank for binding and hinging the panels together, each of said strips having a body portion secured to the end edges of said panels and a flange portion extending substantially at right angles to the body portion, said flange portion being spaced from the end faces of the panels to provide channels at opposite sides of the blank between said flanges and said end faces, end members adapted to form the two ends of the box and to extend within said channels when the box is set up, locking means for securing the end members to the panels, said locking means including spaced plates secured to the marginal edges of the end members, each of said plates having locking means interfitting with complementary means on the adjacent flange when the box is set up, and each of said plates having a deformable lug positioned to be bent over the inner edge of the flange portion onto the outside thereof for clamping the end members to the panels.

3. A box comprising a folding blank including a plurality of panels adapted to form the sides of a box, two angle-sectional metal strips secured to opposite edges of the blank for binding and hinging the panels together, each of said strips having a body portion secured to the end edges of said panels and a flange portion extending substantially at right angles to the body portion, said flange portion being spaced from the end faces of the panels and providing channels at opposite sides of the blank between said flanges and said end faces, end members adapted to form the two ends of the box and to extend within said channels when the box is set up, the body portion of each of said strips having an opening therein adjacent the flange portion, and a metal plate secured to the outside of each end member, said plate having a lug adapted to pass through said opening and to be bent over onto the outside of the flange portion of the strip when the box is set up, to prevent bulging of the sides and ends of the box.

4. A box comprising a folding blank including a plurality of panels adapted to form the sides of a box, two angle-sectional metal strips secured to opposite edges of the blank for binding and hinging the panels together, each of said strips having a body portion secured to the end edges of said panels and a flange portion extending substantially at right angles to the body por- 'tion,-'said flange portion being spaced from the end faces of the panels and providing channels at opposite sides of the blank between said flanges and said end faces, end members adapted to form the two ends of the box and to extend within said channels when the box is set up, the body portion of each of said strips having a plurality of spaced openings, and plates secured to the outside of each of the end members at opposite edges thereof, each of said plates having a projection arranged to extend through one of said openings and to be bent over on the outside of theflanges so as to flrmly connect the end members to the panels.

5. A box comprising a foldable one-piece blank made up of a plurality of panels adapted to form the sides of the box; metal edge-binding and hinging strips secured to opposite edges of the panels to bind and hinge them together, each of said strips comprising a body portion secured to the edges of said panels and a flange extending at substantially right angles to said body portion, the body portion of each of said strips being secured to the outer end edges of said panels with the flange portions spaced from the end edges to provide channels at opposite ends of the blank between the said flanges and said end edges; end members to form the ends of the box, the edges of said end members extending into said channels with the flange portions of said strips in close holding contact with the outer face of an end member when the box is set up; and locking means mounted on and positively secured to at least one of said end members and having a portion adapted to be disposed behind the flange of said body portion, said locking means having an outwardly extending deformable portion arranged, when the box is set up, to engage and be bent over the outside of the flange of said body portion to reinforce the edges and prevent movement of said end members relative to the panels.

6. A box comprising a foldable one-piece blank made up of a plurality of panels adapted to form the sides of the box; metal edge-binding and hinging strips secured to opposite edges of the panels to bind and hinge them together, each of said strips comprising a body portion provided with spaced slots and secured to the edges of said panels and a flange extending at substantially right angles to said body portion, the body portion of each of said strips being secured to the outer end edges of said panels with the flange portions spaced from the end edges to provide channels at opposite ends of the blank between the said flanges and said end edges; end members to form the ends of the box, the edges of said end members extending into said channels with the flange portions of said strips in close holding contact with the outer face of an end member when the box is set up; and locking means mounted on and positively secured to at least one of said end members and having a portion adapted to be disposed behind the flange of said body portion, said locking means having an outwardly extending deformable portion arranged, when the box is set up, to engage the spaced slots in said body portion and be bent over the outside of the flange of said body portion to reinforce the edges and prevent movement of said end members relative to the panels.

7. A box comprising top, bottom and side panels, two metal edge binding and hinging strips of angular cross-sectional form, the opposite end margins of each of said panels being wire stitched to similar flanges of said respective-strips, the other flanges of said strips being positioned approximately parallel with the end faces of said panels but opposite to them and being spaced from said end faces by a suflicient distance to form continuous channels at opposite ends of the box, end panels for said box, the edges of said end panels being positioned in said channels, and metal lugs secured to said end panels and having arts projecting beyond the edges of the end panels and passing through slots formed in said edge binding and hinging strips at points between the corners of the box, the end portions of said lugs being folded back against said strips and securing them firmly to the edges of said end panels.

ANDREW MATHIS KAM'PER. 

